Andreas von der Heydt Coaching & Consulting

I’m the founder and managing director of AVDH Coaching & Consulting as well as a certified ICF professional coach (PCC) and Doctor of Education (EdD). My specialties are (1) Executive Coaching, (2) High-Quality Consulting; (3) Advisory Services (Board Memberships, etc.). I´ve been working with leading organizations around this beautiful world in the past 25+ years.

Founder & Managing Director

Tchibo

Leading Tchibo‘s international business as well as Tchibo’s global Digital & Online business (DACH and International) as a member of the executive board. In charge of strategic direction, management, and performance.

Member of the Executive Board - International Business, Digital & Online 

Chewy

Member of Chewy's Executive Leadership team. Business and P&L owner. Leading sales, category management, marketing, analytics as well as company-wide strategic initiatives. Key HR sponsor for DEI, recruiting, training & development.

Vice President Sales & Category Management

Amazon

Member of Amazon´s Global HR Leadership team. In charge of recruiting, talent development, and employer branding. Leading also key HR technology and product development projects. For the US and globally. Internal coach and think big mentor.

Director Talent Management & Development

Member of the Leadership Team. Business & P&L Owner. In charge of commercial, marketing, onsite management, analytics and other key functions.

Director & Country Manager Kindle Germany

Leading Amazon´s German shopping club and community with many millions of customers. In charge of all functions like sales, account & category management, marketing, finance, supply chain management, etc. European brand leader.

Managing Director Amazon BuyVIP Germany

L'Oréal

Member of the European Leadership Team. In charge of sales of 28 European countries: All commercial teams, category management, and trade marketing.

General Manager Sales Europe

Business and P&L owner. In charge of all key functions like marketing, sales, finance, etc. Leader European new skincare development and brands.

Managing Director Poland

Business and P&L owner. In charge of all key functions like marketing, sales, finance, etc.

General Manager New Zealand

Marketing Director Skincare Germany 

Sales Director Australia

Director Key Account Management Germany 

National Key Account Manager Germany 

REWE Group

Retail Project & Marketing Manager

Graduate Management Trainee Marketing

I’m the founder and managing director of AVDH Coaching & Consulting and a certified ICF PCC coach. I’ve trained and worked with leading coaches across Europe and the U.S. and was a co-founder of Amazon Germany’s Coaching Program as well as a founding member of L’Oréal’s Mentoring Program. I’m a Professional Fellow of the Institute of Coaching, Harvard Medical School, and was a member of the Forbes Coaching Council.

Over the past 25 years, I’ve helped numerous organizations and individuals globally achieve growth and success. As an Executive Coach, Consultant, and Scholar, I specialize in building high-performance, innovative, and entrepreneurial organizations and teams. I have authored various bestselling books & articles on leadership & coaching and conducted doctoral research work on organizational learning and coaching. My work is research-backed, personalized, strongly results-oriented, and measurable.

I also served as an executive board member at Tchibo, a leading European coffee manufacturer and omnichannel retailer, and held senior roles including Vice President at Chewy.com, Director of Talent & Leadership Development at Amazon, Director of Kindle, Managing Director of Amazon BuyVIP, and senior international positions at L’Oréal (General Manager Europe, etc.).

With extensive experience in executive management, HR, sales, and marketing, I’ve worked across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. I bring deep expertise in e-commerce, retail, consumer goods, and technology, along with a strong passion for leadership development. I advise CEOs and entrepreneurs, am a keynote speaker, and work as an executive coach with leaders worldwide. In my free time, I mentor underprivileged groups, driven by my belief in the potential of every individual to grow and succeed.

I hold degrees in management and economics from Ludwigshafen Business School (Germany) and have studied in Salamanca (Spain) and Nagoya (Japan). I earned a Doctorate in Education (Ed.D.) in organizational leadership from Northeastern University (Boston, USA) and an MBA from Henley Business School (UK). A native German speaker, I’m fluent in English and also speak some French, Spanish, and Japanese. I love to learn, live, and support others to grow and succeed. 

More at https://andreasvonderheydt.com

Two cultures solve the same math problem in opposite ways.
Europe breaks it into steps and follows the algorithm.
Japan draws intersecting lines and counts the intersections.
Both work. Neither feels intuitive to the other.

That is teams.

Different minds see different truths. The step-by-step thinker wants sequence. The visual thinker wants pattern. Put them together and something beautiful happens. The visual mind sees the shape of the answer in seconds. The systematic mind tests it, refines it, and makes it scale. What one notices, the other makes real.

That is not addition. That is multiplication.

Homogeneous teams glide because there is no friction. They plateau for the same reason. Agreement comes quickly, insight does not. Groupthink sets in when every path looks familiar.

Diverse teams are messier and better. Methods collide. Ideas spark. New routes appear that neither side could have found alone. The beauty is in the blend. And it becomes trickier and even more beautiful when more cultures, mindsets, and attitudes enter the room.

The hard part is staying with the discomfort. Hearing a method that feels backwards. Letting your process be questioned. Many teams escape this tension by hiring for fit and end up paying for sameness.

A child taught only one method might think they are bad at math. Maybe they just needed to see it differently. How many people did you lose because you built only one door?

You cannot ask for innovation while demanding identical thinking. Real multiplication needs difference and the courage to work with it. Otherwise, you are just adding.

Andreas von der Heydt

Join my newsletter here on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/life-amplifier-6874170370488971264/

Andreas serves as a member of Tchibo's Executive Board, overseeing marketing, online, and the company's international business. Previously, he held the position of VP of Merchandising, Sales, and Marketing as part of the Senior Executive Team at Chewy. Prior, he spent several years at Amazon, where he led Talent Management in Seattle and served as the Director of Kindle and Managing Director of Amazon BuyVIP in Germany. Before joining Amazon, Andreas held the role of GM Sales Europe at L'Oréal in Paris, France, and served as the Country Manager in Poland. He also held various other senior leadership positions at L'Oréal globally. Earlier in his career, Andreas worked as a project manager at Rewe Group, one of Europe's leading retailers.

Andreas brings a diverse background in general management, sales, marketing, and HR, having worked across the US, Europe, and Australasia. He is particularly passionate about leadership and has extensive international experience in e-commerce, retail, consumer goods, and technology. Andreas dedicates a significant focus on supporting others in achieving success, utilizing his skills as a certified coach and master coach. He played a key role as a co-founder of Amazon´s in-house Coaching Program and was a founding member of L'Oréal's Mentoring Program in Germany. In his spare time, Andreas provides coaching & mentorship to members of underprivileged groups, driven by his belief that everyone possesses the resources necessary for growth and success.

Andreas pursued his studies in management & economics at Ludwigshafen Business School in Germany, as well as in Salamanca, Spain, and Nagoya, Japan. As a lifelong learner, he obtained an MBA from Henley Management School in the UK and a Doctor of Education (Ed.D) from Northeastern University in Boston, USA, specializing in organizational leadership and development. He is a native German speaker and is fluent in English, French, Spanish, and has some knowledge of Japanese. Andreas recently authored a book on creating a Coaching Culture within organizations.

Disclaimer: All posts, comments, and content shared here reflect solely my personal opinion and are written and posted by me. I do not employ any agency or ghostwriter, nor do I promote services, products, or third parties in exchange for payment or fees. I have actively engaged on LinkedIn for over 12 years, and I continue to enjoy learning and sharing on this platform.

More at https://andreasvonderheydt.com

Executive Coach. Consultant. Senior Lecturer.

The first stages of building anything that matters, whether a business, a dream, or a relationship, don’t ask for certainty.
They ask for courage, energy, and an unshakable belief in yourself and others.

When you’re creating something that’s never existed before,
you can’t possibly know what the final shape will be.
You just know you have to move.

One stone at a time.
One decision.
One imperfect step.

That’s what real life feels like. Not polished. Not linear. Real.

You might have a mission that burns, a bold idea, or simply the quiet hope for something better.
But the bridge that holds? The shape that lasts?
It only appears through motion.

And yes, it takes countless failed attempts.
The kind that don’t wait for clarity.
The kind that move anyway.
Because every wrong rock reveals a right one.
Every pivot redraws the path.

Then, at some point, something shifts.
You stop testing every stone.
You start trusting your balance.

You begin to recognize the unshakable pieces:
truths, systems, friendships, knowledge.
The elements that hold when everything else moves.
They become your foundation,
so you can go faster without rebuilding from scratch.

The rules are simple:
> Find your why.
> Then your what.
> Then build your how, flexible, alive, evolving.
> Take the first step and keep moving.

Because if nothing feels solid yet, that’s not failure.
That’s construction.

At first, you test every stone.
Then you stand on the ones that hold.
And one day, without noticing,
you’ll look around
and realize you’re standing on your own masterpiece.

***********************
I'm an executive coach, scholar, and sparring partner to leaders and entrepreneurs worldwide. Former senior executive at Amazon, L’Oréal, and Chewy, and board member at Tchibo.

I’m happy to share that I’ve become Senior Lecturer in Leadership & Coaching (part-time) at EBS Universität für Wirtschaft und Recht, while continuing my main work as a global executive coach supporting senior leaders.

Starting in 2026, I will teach the new course “Fearless Leadership,” which I designed and developed based on the latest academic research, my 25 years as an executive with leading organizations, and over two decades as a professional business coach working with hundreds of leaders worldwide. 

This is my way of saying thank you for all the support I’ve received over the years, and to give back to today’s and tomorrow’s leaders.

EBS ranks #3 in Germany for Executive Education (Financial Times, Open Programs, 2024).

If you can’t handle the truth,
people stop sharing it with you.

Real growth starts when you show
that you’re open to being coached.

You’re coachable when you’re
brave, humble and relentless 
about becoming better.

What is it you do to be and stay coachable 
In a world of constant disruption, noise, and ambiguity?

Want to know the fastest way to lose respect as a leader? Skip the hard conversations.

I'm coaching someone right now who's very talented, committed, deeply cares about her team, is always available, and ready to protect them when needed.

However, her challenge is that she avoids telling people directly when something isn’t working or when someone has messed up.

Her reasoning? "I believe in people's good intentions. Eventually, they'll learn and improve."

Here's the problem: eventually isn't a strategy. You don't have months to wait while performance slides and deadlines pass. Your organization won't wait. Your stakeholders won't wait.

What she's missing is that people want the truth. They expect it. They deserve it.

Without honest feedback, they can't course-correct. They keep making the same mistakes, unaware, until the consequences become severe. 

By then, it's too late. They never had a fair shot at fixing things because no one told them what was broken.

Your team notices every conversation you avoid. Every time you sidestep a tough issue, you send a message: I'm not willing to be straight with you. That's when respect walks out the door.

Real leadership means speaking the truth quickly, clearly, and respectfully. Not someday. Not when it becomes unavoidable. Now.

The conversations you avoid today become the regrets people remember tomorrow.

How do you face tough conversations?

We make life harder than it needs to be. We overthink, overanalyze, and wait for the perfect moment that never comes. 

We hold back words that could heal, delay actions that could move us forward, and complicate what’s meant to be simple.

But life doesn’t reward hesitation. It rewards truth, clarity, and courage.

Missing somebody? –> Call
Wanna meet up? –> Invite
Wanna be understood? > Explain
Have questions? –> Ask
Don’t like something? –>Fix it
Like something? –>State it
Want something? –> Work for it
Love someone? –> Tell them

Keep your life simple, live it, enjoy it!

Executive Coach. Consultant. Advisor.

Your brain is the most powerful system in the known universe.
Roughly 86 billion neurons.
Each forming up to 10,000 connections.
That’s more synapses than stars in the Milky Way.

And yet, most people use this cosmic engine like a basic calculator.

You recharge your phone every night, but when was the last time you recharged your mind?
If you don’t update your mental software, you run yesterday’s code in today’s world.

Here’s how to upgrade the system:

1. Expand your neural library
Feed your brain with ideas that stretch your worldview.
Choose books and articles that challenge what you think you know.
Read outside your domain: science, art, philosophy. That’s where creativity connects the dots.

2. Move while you learn
Your brain thrives on motion. Walk and listen to a thought-provoking podcast.
Exercise fires up neurogenesis, the creation of new brain cells.
A healthy body is the fastest Wi-Fi your brain can get.

3. Write to think
Don’t just consume. Reflect.
Jot down insights, patterns, questions.
Writing transforms noise into clarity.

4. Reboot daily
Sleep is your built-in repair system.
During deep sleep, your brain literally washes away toxins.
Short naps can sharpen focus more effectively than caffeine.

5. Detox your input
Information overload drains energy.
Check your phone intentionally, not habitually.
Curate your digital diet as carefully as your food.

6. Train attention like a muscle
Meditation isn’t about silence; it’s about awareness.
Five minutes a day of focused breathing rewires your brain’s stress response.
As neuroscientist Richie Davidson says, “Attention is the gateway to every mental skill.”

7. Get outside your head, literally
Spend time in nature.
It reduces cortisol, boosts memory, and resets perspective.
Einstein took long walks to think. You should, too.

8. Fuel for performance
Your brain runs on what you eat.
Omega-3s, berries, dark chocolate, and leafy greens keep neurons firing.
Skip the sugar spikes; they crash your clarity.

9. Connect deeply
Conversations that matter build emotional intelligence and resilience.
Isolation shrinks neural networks; connection expands them.
A five-minute genuine talk beats five hours of scrolling.

10. Seek awe
Expose yourself to moments that make you feel small, in the best way.
A night sky, a symphony, a mountain view.
Awe expands perception, resets priorities, and boosts creativity more than any productivity hack ever will.

Your brain is not a passenger. It’s the pilot.
Treat it with the same respect you give your best tools.

So, what’s one upgrade you’ll install this week?
I’d love to hear your thoughts.

***********************
Hi, I'm Andreas. An executive coach, scholar, and sparring partner to leaders and entrepreneurs worldwide. Former senior executive at Amazon, L’Oréal, and Chewy, and board member at Tchibo.

Stop for a second. Yes, you! 

Think about the last person who walked into your room. Did they bring energy or drain it? Did you lean in or pull back?

You felt something. Instantly. Before a word was spoken. Right?
That's the power of presence.

What many people miss: 
The way you show up determines the way people feel. The way people feel determines how they engage. And how they engage? That shapes everything: your relationships, your work, your entire life trajectory.

Try this right now:
Think of someone whose presence lights you up. Got them in mind?
Now someone who exhausts you.
Notice something? You didn't need a checklist. You felt it.

That's because emotions are contagious. Neuroscience calls them mirror neurons. I call it being human. 

When you walk in anxious, you spread anxiety. When you show up curious, you create possibility. When you bring judgment, people shut down. When you bring openness, they expand.

The question you should ask before every meeting, conversation, or moment that matters:
"How do I want to show up?"
Not "What do I need to say?" Not "What do I need to accomplish?"
How do you want to show up?

Calm or chaotic?
Present or distracted?
Defensive or open?
Drained or energized?

This matters more than you think, because your presence is your first and most powerful message.

It's something you choose.

And that choice? 

It ripples through everything.

***********************
I'm an executive coach, scholar, and sparring partner to leaders and entrepreneurs worldwide. Former senior executive at Amazon, L’Oréal, and Chewy, and board member at Tchibo.

Working Backwards is a real superpower. Most people miss the simplest truth: It is a skill you can build! 

In my first meeting with Jeff Bezos in 2012, a few months after I had joined Amazon as Managing Director for a new acquisition, he explained Working Backwards to me and the team in practical terms: 

"Start at the end state, describe it clearly, then earn the right to build it."

I have adopted this philosophy ever since, as both a business and a people leader, to launch services, grow businesses, develop top talent, and raise customer satisfaction.

To apply it, begin with five questions:

1) Who is the customer?
2) What problem or opportunity are we solving?
3) What is the most important customer benefit?
4) How do we know what customers really want or need?
5) What should the customer experience look like?

On paper these look simple. In reality, however, they force clear choices, replace opinions with evidence, surface trade-offs, and keep teams aligned on value. Amazon leaders use them to develop comprehensive plans, including fallback options, tailor-made strategies, clarify ownership, coach for judgment, and decide what not to do.

I still use this approach when I coach leaders across startups and multinationals. It helps them to focus on what matters, remove noise, build great teams, and deliver strong results. 

Do you use a Working Backwards approach today? If not, what principles guide your business and people decisions?

When Navy SEALs need to stay sharp under stress, they use a specific breathing protocol that overrides the body's panic response in real time. 

I not only taught it to my children before exams or other difficult life situations, but I also use it with coaching clients at the beginning of demanding sessions when stress threatens clear thinking. 

Our nervous system treats anxiety and stress as threats. Breathwork interrupts that cascade before it takes control.

Controlled breathing directly influences your autonomic nervous system. By regulating your inhale and exhale, you lower heart rate and blood pressure while improving heart rate variability, which reflects how well your nervous system adapts to stress. 

Already two brief daily sessions create measurable, lasting improvements in both physical health and mental resilience.

The technique follows a precise four-phase cycle. Each phase lasts exactly four seconds:
▶️ Inhale while mentally counting to 4 (1-2-3-4): Breathe slowly through your nose, drawing air deep into your abdomen. 
▶️ Hold your breath for 4 seconds (1-2-3-4): Retain the breath without tension. Keep your throat relaxed.
▶️ Exhale while mentally counting to 4 (1-2-3-4): Release completely through your mouth or nose, emptying your lungs as your abdomen contracts.
▶️ Hold your breath for 4 seconds (1-2-3-4): Pause with empty lungs, staying relaxed before the next cycle begins.

Repeat for two to three minutes. When your mind wanders, return your focus to the count. That redirection is the practice itself. The technique requires nothing beyond three uninterrupted minutes. No equipment, no special environment, no prior experience.

The military has validated this under extreme conditions, and research confirms its effectiveness. 

Maybe you wanna check it out before an important meeting, negotiation, or discussion at home to calm down and increase your focus level with positive energy?

The best leaders know this: Leadership is not about maximizing the bottom line.

It is about the long-term development of the organization and its people so they can learn, grow, and flourish.

If you put the right organization, structure, systems, and processes in place, and they are managed and owned by highly qualified and motivated team members, results follow. 

Business growth, higher revenues, and profit show up as a consequence. It becomes an automatism you cannot stop. Like a universal law.

Therefore, focus as a leader on your organization and your people. Everything else will follow.

The best leaders have understood this and practice it consistently. Regardless of industry, company size, or company maturity. 

It never stops. You can always get better at it.

Are you up to it?

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt for explaining innovation-driven economic growth.

THEIR WORK

Joel Mokyr showed that progress happens when knowledge connects knowledge. He distinguished between propositional knowledge (understanding why things work) and prescriptive knowledge (knowing how to make them work). His deeper message: innovation depends not just on ideas, but on societies that are open to change, tolerant of failure, and free from entrenched interests.

Philippe Aghion & Peter Howitt built the first general-equilibrium model of creative destruction. A dynamic system where new technologies constantly replace old ones. Their work revealed that growth is a permanent race between innovation and obsolescence, where every breakthrough contains both creation and destruction. They showed how competition fuels progress, how monopolies slow it down, and how too little or too much R&D can both harm growth. 

WHAT INNOVATION REALLY MEANS

👉 Innovation isn't about single inventions. It's about each breakthrough building on the last, creating an endless cycle that transforms everything.
👉 Creative destruction is the engine. New products and processes must kill old ones. Without this, we get stagnation disguised as stability.
👉 Knowledge needs to flow everywhere. When breakthroughs stay regional or locked behind barriers, innovation dies.
👉 Competition requires balance. Too few players or too many both kill innovation. The sweet spot shifts constantly.
👉 Innovation creates losers, not just winners. Supporting displaced workers while letting obsolete jobs disappear is what sustains progress.
👉 Society's openness determines everything. Academic freedom, social mobility, and resistance to protectionism aren't nice-to-haves. They're survival requirements.

TAKEAWAY

For 200 years, each generation lived better than the last. That streak isn't guaranteed, as economic growth is not the default state of humanity. Stagnation is. What keeps progress alive is courage: the courage to challenge the old, to reinvent, and to keep knowledge moving forward.

Are we paying attention?

***********************
I'm an executive coach, scholar, and sparring partner to leaders and entrepreneurs worldwide. Former senior executive at Amazon, L’Oréal, and Chewy, and board member at Tchibo.

Should Donald Trump have received the Nobel Peace Prize for a Gaza peace deal?

Supporters argue he secured an unprecedented commitment from both Israel and Hamas to the same peace framework, pairing staged hostage releases, prisoner exchanges, and sustained humanitarian access. They add that no previous mediator achieved simultaneous agreement by these adversaries and that recognition can help lock in fragile progress.

Critics contend the deal’s durability is unproven, enforcement and governance remain unclear, and Nobel’s spirit favors leaders who unite. They note that many of Trump’s policies have intensified polarization at home and with allies, complicating the unifier test. Others point out that shuttle diplomacy is collective and that elevating one figure risks erasing the coalition work behind the agreement.

What is your opinion? Cast your vote and share your view below.

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